Cagiva's Raptor is just
about the perfect bike for the south of France. With its wacky looks and upright
riding position it demands to be noticed, and it's comfortable enough at slow
speed to facilitate checking your reflection in the glass of Nice's posh
shopfronts. Yet this bike has enough performance to be equally at home at the
traffic-light grand prix and out of town in the mountains, on the great biking
roads that in these parts are always close at hand.

A comparison with Monster
is no coincidence, of course, because the Raptors' designer, Argentinean-born
Miguel Angel Galluzzi, is the man who sketched the original naked Ducati V-twin
and persuaded his bosses to put it into production. That first M900 spawned a
whole family of Monsters, became the Bologna firm's best-selling model, and
triggered a major comeback for the simple roadster with aggressive styling and
attitude to match.

I'm sitting at the lights
on the wide seafront road in Nice, 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-February,
and the view through my dark visor is good. The sun is shining, girls are
in-line skating past on the broad pavement, an old man sits on the sea wall
reading a newspaper, people are outside Cafés with coffees and beers. And here
at the head of the traffic queue along with two scooters and a trail bike, I'm
sitting astride the Italian V-twin that is just about the coolest, most
imaginative example of a new naked motorbike to strut its stuff on the Promenade
des Anglais since... ooh, since Ducati's Monster kick-started the naked bike
revival back in 1993.

Suddenly the lights
change and we're off. I'm snicking into gear, surging away ahead of the other
bikes on a torrent of big V-twin torque, enjoying the warm wind on my chest,
just about resisting the temptation to tweak the throttle harder and send the
front wheel into the air... and then slowing for the next set of lights, to
begin the process all over again. Cagiva's Raptor is just about the perfect bike
for the south of France. With its wacky looks and upright riding position it
demands to be noticed, and it's comfortable enough at slow speed to facilitate
checking your reflection in the glass of Nice's posh shopfronts. Yet this bike
and its more conservatively styled Raptor sibling (see picture above) have
enough performance to be equally at home at the traffic-light grand prix and out
of town in the mountains, on the great biking roads that in these parts are
always close at hand. That comparison with Monster is no coincidence, of course,
because the Raptors' designer, Argentinean-born Miguel Angel Galluzzi, is the
man who sketched the original naked Ducati V-twin and persuaded his bosses to
put it into production. That first M900 spawned a whole family of Monsters,
became the Bologna firm's best-selling model, and triggered a major comeback for
the simple roadster with aggressive styling and attitude to match. Ducati has
since been sold by Cagiva but Galluzzi has stayed with his old boss Claudio
Castiglioni in Varese, and has now come up with two bikes that are visually
different but very similar under the skin.

Each is powered by the
996cc liquid-cooled V-twin engine from Suzuki's TL1000S, and most of their
chassis parts are shared. Together they represent the first stage of Cagiva's
attempt to establish the marque's name, alongside that of its MV Agusta
subsidiary, as a major force in the big-bike market. Galluzzi has certainly
given the Raptor an eye-catching look. With its sharp beak, from which dramatic
fake air-scoops lead back to the tank, it has a unique profile that perfectly
matches its name Raptor is a Latin word for bird of prey. Like the basic Raptor,
which looks rather Monster-like at first glance, it incorporates heaps of neat
details, from the centrally placed triangular tacho (with digital speedo
underneath) to the claw-like castings below the rear footrests. Cagiva's
development team kept the TL's 90-degree, eight-valve engine internally
standard, but fitted their own intake and exhaust systems. The lower part of the
airbox is retained but the top wouldn't fit inside the Raptor fuel tank so it's
new, as are the intake manifolds. The exhaust is a new stainless steel system,
and the fuel-injection system is reprogrammed, mainly with the aim of smoothing
out low- and medium-rev power delivery. The result of all that is a little
confusing. Cagiva quotes a modest-sounding 105bhp at 8500rpm, well down on the
TL1000S's claimed 121bhp. But the Italians take their measurements at the rear
wheel, not at the crankshaft like Suzuki, and on Cagiva's dyno the Raptor's
output is only a couple of horsepower down on that of the TL. Likewise its peak
torque output of 98N.m at 7000rpm, measured at the rear wheel, compares well
with the Suzuki's 103N.m at the crank. Chassis design is based on a vaguely
Ducati-style tubular steel frame, with 40mm diameter main tubes, and uses the
engine as a stressed member. A semi-elliptical steel swing-arm works the
vertically mounted Sachs shock, which is offset to the left by 40mm to clear the
rear cylinder's exhaust downpipe. Up front, non-adjustable 43mm Marzocchi
upside-down forks hold 300mm discs and four-pot Brembo calipers.

Both Raptors have the
same distinctive instrument console, which incorporates a sophisticated
diagnostic system that allows a dealer to track down an electrical malfunction.
They also use the same seat, which at 770mm high is designed to allow
average-sized riders to put both feet flat on the ground. The V-Raptor also
comes with a suitably sculpted removable cover for the pillion section. This and
the V-Rap's other bold (although, functionally speaking, useless) bodywork parts
certainly made the bike look right at home in fashionable Nice, and in other
ways too the Cagiva proved a great bike for urban posing. Its handlebars are
wide and flat, giving plenty of steering lock and leaning you forward very
slightly over those outrageous fake scoops. Combined with the fairly soft
suspension, that made for a ride that was comfortable in town and was also fine
at higher speeds, aided by a degree of wind protection from the nose fairing and
clocks. As the owner of a TL1000S myself I was already addicted to the big
V-twin's ever-ready reserves of midrange torque. Happily, that is still present
and correct. Cagiva's intake and exhaust tuning, combined with a lowering of the
overall gear ratio (from 17/39 to 16/40), has succeeded in making the low-rev
delivery a touch more user-friendly. This bike felt a little less snatchy than
the TL at urban speeds, although in slow-moving traffic it was still best to
short-shift up to third gear for a smooth ride. Most importantly, though,
tweaking the loud handle at almost any speed sent the bike hurtling forward in
traditionally explosive TL fashion.

Suzuki's liquid-cooled
lump provides distinctly more muscle than the relatively old-fashioned aircooled,
sohc Monster engine. Whether I was lazily winding it on with as little as
2000rpm on the tacho, or holding on tight as the needle sped towards the
10,300rpm redline, the Raptor's straight-line stomp never failed to impress.
With its slightly detuned motor and shorter gearing this bike wouldn't approach
the TL Thou's 160mph-plus top speed, but on straighter, less busy roads you
could expect to see at least 150mph on the digital speedo. Some vibes come
through pegs and seat at high revs, but generally the Cagiva was pleasantly
smooth. Its six-speed gearbox shifted with typical Suzuki efficiently and more
importantly for many owners, no doubt the V-Raptor needed very little
provocation to hoist its front wheel skywards. It also went round corners every
bit as well as you'd expect of a big Italian V-twin, at least one designed as
much for comfort as for speed. At 197kg the V-Raptor is respectably light (the
standard Raptor model is 5kg lighter). And although its geometry is not
particularly sporty, with 25.2 degrees of rake and 110mm of trail, the wide
handlebars gave enough leverage to allow pleasantly quick, neutral steering.

Up in the mountains when
the follow-the-leader launch pace got really hot, the Cagiva's suspension
started to feel a little soft, particularly under heavy braking, when some fork
adjustment would have been handy. But at more sensible speeds the V-Raptor
worked just fine, staying rock-solid on the straights and floating round bumpy
mountain hairpins with ease. Brakes and tyres were well up to the job, too.
Brembo's four-potters didn't have quite the absolute power of some sports bike
systems, but bit hard given a reasonably firm squeeze of the lever. For this
type of bike and its possibly less experienced owners, that arguably made the
stoppers ideal. And Bridgestone's BT56 tyres, the rear a 180/55 cover, coped
well with the often dubious road surfaces. Predictably the basic Raptor felt
very similar in nearly every respect, though it drew considerably less attention
when parked. From the saddle the main difference apart from not having those
fake airscoops in front of you is that the bars are slightly higher and less
pulled-back, giving a marginally more upright riding position. The V-Raptor's
small amount of wind protection from its beak would make that bike slightly more
useful over long distances, but there's not much in it. Given these two bikes'
similarities, it's tempting to conclude that the basic Raptor, which at £6699 on
the road is £450 cheaper than the £7149 V-Raptor, is better value of the two.
Some riders will doubtless find the V-Raptor too extreme, and Cagiva is
expecting to sell more of the basic model. Personally I'd pay the extra for one
of the most distinctive bikes on the road. Whether you like the V-Raptor's looks
or not, both bikes are cleverly designed and well executed machines that confirm
Galluzzi has succeeded in his aim of evolving the naked bike concept. They are
eye-catching, powerful and competitively priced, and leave Ducati's Monster, now
available in tweaked M900S version but little changed these last seven years,
playing catch-up. And these two bikes are just the start for Cagiva, whose links
with Suzuki are allowing rapid model development. Production of the dual-purpose
Navigator, also TL1000S engined, is due in May, and the Varese firm is also
working on smaller Raptors, powered by Suzuki's SV650 engine, for next year.
Rumours of four-cylinder Cagivas can be discounted as such a bike would compete
with MV Agusta, but a sports-touring V-twin is also likely in the near future.
Cagiva's future as a serious producer of large-capacity roadsters starts right
here.

Source .insidebikes.com

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